Thatchers 'thrilled' after winning Court of Appeal trademark battle against Aldi
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Thatchers has won a trademark battle with Aldi over its cloudy lemon cider at the Court of Appeal. The Somerset cider maker had accused the supermarket giant of mimicking its product with Aldi's Taurus brand. Initially, Thatchers' complaint was dismissed by the High Court in London last January, when Judge Melissa Clarke ruled that there was only a slight resemblance between the products and no real risk of customer confusion.
However, Thatchers took their grievance to the Court of Appeal in December. On Monday, the appeal was upheld by three judges. In a detailed 40-page decision, Lord Justice Arnold stated that Aldi had indeed infringed on the trademark concerning the imagery on the cans and the cardboard packaging for the four-can pack, but not the Aldi product itself.
Alongside Lord Justice Phillips and Lady Justice Falk, Lord Justice Arnold declared: "In my judgment, it is plain from a comparison between the sign and the trademark that the former closely resembles the latter.". He further remarked: "The inescapable conclusion is that Aldi intended the sign to remind consumers of the trademark. This can only have been in order to convey the message that the Aldi product was like the Thatchers product, only cheaper.".
“To that extent, Aldi intended to take advantage of the reputation of the trademark in order to assist it to sell the Aldi product. He added the fact that “Aldi did not intend consumers to be deceived, or even confused, as to the trade origin of the Aldi product does not detract from this”.
